Feedback on syncing

Allan08

On the web site you state:

1Password 4 was rewritten from the ground up to use the latest technlogies available. During the rewrite we decided not to include the following features:

Wi-Fi syncing with 1Password 3 for Mac is not available. If you rely on Wi-Fi syncing and do not want to use Dropbox for automatic syncing with Mac, please stay with version 3 for now.

This is REALLY dumb. Especially for so-called security password app. I stress the words SO-CALLED. Because not all of us want to use a cloud based service for updating from the Mac, and prefer the use of local Wi-Fi. After all, some pretty famous bloggers were hacked through their Apple cloud accounts.

Regardless of how safe you believe Dropbox might be, you can't dispute that WiFi syncing at home, using your own encrypted WiFi, is the safest of all.

If I don't want to use the cloud for my passwords — including passwords for bank accounts and credit cards — any so-called security password app should understand that, and support local syncing.

(1) WILL YOU EVER SUPPORT WI-FI SYNCHING FROM THE MAC in the new version?

If no, then I will abandon your product, request a refund on my purchase of your poorly designed app, and find something else.

(2) If you will support WI-FI synching with the Mac, WHEN WILL YOU DO SO?

If not in the next 30 days, then I have no intention to wait longer than that, and I will abandon your product, request a refund of your poorly designed app, and find something else.

It really is moronic that you have dropped the safest form of syncing of all. Way to go for a so-called security app. You would rather use an insecure design and rely on the cloud, which has been vulnerable to hacking, and eliminate the use of local wi-fi synching.

Kudos to your moron engineers and their incredibly dumb design

khad

Wi-Fi syncing never made it into version 4 since it was very brittle. You can review the Wi-Fi Sync Troubleshooting Guide yourself to see just how many things could go wrong.

And this list didn't cover everything as we still have customers with unusual network configurations and have never been able to sync via the old Wi-Fi method. It's very frustrating to the users and for us.

There are some valid use cases at the moment where direct sync is needed, though. For example, a really nice fellow from China emailed us explaining that the Great Firewall prevents all Dropbox access and he's been using Wi-Fi syncing as a workaround until iCloud syncing is available for Mac. We told him to keep using version 3 for now until iCloud support is available for Mac.

Then there's the user experience itself: even when Wi-Fi worked it was cumbersome. You had to start 1Password on each device and trigger the sync. If you added new accounts and forgot to sync (or remembered to sync one device but not the other), you'd be without your data.

For 4 years, all we heard about Wi-Fi sync was that it is a huge source of problems and disappointment for our customers. We rewrote 1Password from the ground up for version 4. There is no code shared with version 3. Re-implementing Wi-Fi sync again was never on the list.

The iTunes File Sharing is more secure than Wi-Fi sync and does not have any of its connectivity issues. It is less convenient though. So we looked at ways to make things easier and have now rolled out USB syncing in beta form.

If you cannot use Dropbox, you will be able to use iCloud in the new year when it's available on Mac. If you are unable to use iCloud and Dropbox and the iTunes File Sharing doesn't suit your needs, USB syncing is a great option.

We're always evaluating new sync options, and we are very pleased to continue to offer a solution via USB where you can sync without relying on a central server but without all the heartache that Wi-Fi caused.

All that said, Dropbox syncing is extremely secure.

From the moment we designed the Agile Keychain data format we ensured that it was able to withstand an attack should your data fall into the wrong hands, either as a result of a Dropbox breach or if someone physically stole your computer. As such, we use AES encryption with PBKDF2 key strengthening to protect your sensitive 1Password data as well as many other mechanisms to stop an attacker from ever accessing your information and we detail this here:

Security of storing 1Password data in the cloud

So, as long as you use a secure master password that you don't use elsewhere, your 1Password data is incredibly safe even when stored on a service like Dropbox. If you're not sure about the strength of your master password, please do take a look at our recent blog post on this:

Toward Better Master Passwords

I can't think of many better ways to show just how strongly 1Password protects your data than by pitting it against the pre-eminent password cracking tool John the Ripper. We did exactly that:

1Password is Ready for John the Ripper

But the choice is yours to make. You can sync via USB if you are cloud averse. :)

1Password USB Syncing

If we can be of further assistance, please let us know. We are always here to help!

MacDanny

OK, so wifi syncing is very hard to implement in the new version, here's my situation:
I have used 1Password on my Mac for longer than I can recall, and as soon as the app was available for my iPhone I downloaded it. I have purchased the latest versions any time they became available, and with the exception of the latest for my iPad, I have always been very happy I did.

Then V4.2.1 comes along for the iOS, I download and install it on my IPad, and I discover I can't sync it at all. Oh it offers Dropbox sync [never used the service and don't plan on doing so], and iCloud sync- but wait, that's not available on the version running on my Mac, nor my iPhone. Ah, but I can use USB sync... not so, as I have to have Lyon running on my Mac [don't have it and don't plan on getting it for the foreseeable future as it breaks a number of my must have apps].

So it seems I have purchased the first upgrade of 1Password that I can't use.

Until such time as a better solution comes along, I will not be purchasing any more updates/upgrades of 1Password on any of my devices, and I have removed the 4.2.1 from my iPad.

I truly hope the decision to not include wifi sync is reconsidered. And yes, I have read the post about the multiple problems associated with wifi sync, but for many of us, wifi is the only solution we are comfortable with.

And a final comment: "But the choice is yours to make. You can sync via USB if you are cloud averse." is a very misleading statement unless you offer a patch for the Mac version for those of us running 10.7.x that enables it.

Cobram

Dear AgileBits Team

You bug me everyday with the annoying message to upgrade to 1Password to v4. I WILL NEVER DO THAT. Unless you support WiFi syncing. I still can't understand why you did this to us, your customers? USB? Are we in the stone age? iCloud, Dropbox? Who else we don't know yet reads our accounts and data there besides government agencies (just read the latest news)?

Seriously, guys. Putting my password - my most private data - to some remote web server accessible to somebody I don't know about? Is it a joke?

khad

@MacDanny, you are correct. In your case, running an old version of OS X will require an old version of 1Password if you would like to sync directly (without the cloud). As I mentioned you and @Cobram are both free to continue using 1Password 3 and syncing via Wi-Fi. If that is a good solution for you, why change?

Of course, all that said, we would be remiss if we weren't constantly evaluating other sync options. Please see the discussion on this issue in the Lounge especially this post of Jeff's.